Currywurst and sushi

Thursday, 31 January 2019

Today is day 6 of my crowdfunding campaign. I've written a book, you see, a novel actually and I'm hoping to get it published through crowdfunding. Considering I'm trying to publish a book written in Italian, while living in Germany, and considering that a lot of my friends can't even pronounce bruschetta properly, I haven't done badly. My goal is 200 pre-orders in 100 days and I've reached 31% of the goal so far.

I think my next book is going to be about how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign. I wish I'd read this book before I'd started. Well maybe not. I probably wouldn't even have tried if I had known what was lying ahead. It's like when I was pregnant and I was told: "This is the easy part; you wait till the baby is born." I feel the same way about this campaign: writing the book was the easy part!

By the end of the 100 days, I'm either going to love or forever hate social media. Over the past week, I've discovered there is another world out there: it's made of bookbloggers and writers with Instagram accounts and thousands of followers.

There is one very successful self-published author who found me on Instagram and on Twitter. I asked him if he could share some advice. His response was simple: "As you can see, social media." I can see that. He has a friendly but rather determined approach. How did he even find me? Hashtags?

One positive aspect of the campaign is that it's kept me so busy I've barely had the time to worry about Brexit. Do they really believe the EU will renegotiate the deal?

If you would like to support my campaign and practise your Italian, please pre-order a copy of my book. The e-book is a bargain at €5.99!

Thursday, 30 August 2018

Do you remember your first day of school?
If you went to school in Germany, the chances are you do, and you probably remember
it well. Or at least you will have fond memories of your Schultüte, a giant
colourful cone made of cardboard full of sweets and other surprises.

In Germany starting school is a major life
milestone and, like all important events, it deserves a proper celebration. There
is even a word called Einschulungsfeier, the party to celebrate the first day
of school. Feier means party by the way. This is perhaps not so surprising
considering there is also a word called Feierabend for when you finish work. Germans
like parties after all.

Last Saturday, 34,000 children in Berlin alone
celebrated their first day of school at the 400 primary schools or Grundschulen
across the German capital. If you happened to walk by a primary school, or had
lunch in a restaurant close to one, you probably noticed all the hustle and
bustle, unusual for a Saturday when schools are normally closed.

On the morning of this special day, the
children starting primary school together with their families (parents,
siblings and often also grandparents) gather in the main assembly hall, where
they are greeted by the headmistress or headmaster. Each child holds a Schultüte
(in some cases it is as tall as the child itself) and carries a school bag, or
Schulranzen in German.

The ceremony to welcome the new pupils usually
involves a play or performance put on by the older children and a short speech
by the headmistress or headmaster. Then each child is called by the teacher and
together they walk to their classroom, without the parents. This is when the
first class officially begins. After 20-30 minutes the children re-emerge with
their teachers in the schoolyard. For some children now is the time to finally
find out what their parents have hidden in the cone (usually a combination of
sweets and school supplies); others will have to wait until they get home. The party
is not over yet though. After taking pictures, the families move on to a restaurant
or go back home for lunch.

By Monday morning, once all the excitement
has worn off, the children are ready and eager to start school.

Tuesday, 17 July 2018

The Wall is
one of the most fascinating subjects for visitors and newcomers to Berlin, as
you can probably tell by the crowds gathered around the main tourist sights. However,
there is one place that seems to be off the tourist radar, perhaps because of
its location in not-so-glamorous Lichtenberg. It is the complex of the Stasi
headquarters and archives, tucked away behind busy Frankurfter Allee, just
outside the underground station of Magdalenenstrasse.

When I went
on a Monday morning in mid-July there were very few people about, although the
two local workmen walking past were astonished to see that “Alle diese Leute
wollen zum Stasimuseum?!?” (All these people want to go to the Stasi Museum?!?”)
They obviously don’t spend much time around Checkpoint Charlie, which by the
way looks more like Disneyland these days.

If you want
an authentic experience of the GDR (forget the Trabi Safari and the DDR Museum,
they’re for Ostalgics, i.e. nostalgics about East Germany), get on the U5 or
walk 10 minutes from Frankfurter Allee station. There you will be reminded
about how brutal and repressive the East German regime actually was and how the
Stasi (the official state security service of the GDR) spied on the East German
population.

If the weather
is too good and you don’t feel like going inside the building or if you don’t
want to pay the €6 entrance fee (€4.50 reduced), make sure you spend some time
looking at the free open-air exhibition called “Revolution and the Fall of the
Wall”. It is dedicated to the history of
the Peaceful Revolution (Friedliche Revolution in German) that eventually led to the fall
of the Wall. The bilingual (German/English) exhibition focuses on the brave citizens
who stood up to the communist dictatorship and offers an uplifting message about
the strength of people power.

One of my favourite slogans is from a major demonstration at Alexander Platz on 4 November 1989 (the Wall fell on the evening of 9 November after an international press conference about new travel regulations): "Stop lying once and for all! The change came from the people not from the SED party!"

Monday, 9 July 2018

Berlin is a
great city to visit with kids. You will find plenty to do whatever the weather.
With hundreds of playgrounds, two zoos, two aquariums, leafy parks, lakes and great
museums, your kids will not be bored!

OUTDOORS

Playgrounds (in German Spielplatz or Spielplätze plural)

Berlin has
hundreds of playgrounds scattered around the city.

If your child
needs a break from sightseeing or shopping, you will not need to search long to
find a playground. Type in
Spielplatz into an online map service to find the one closest to you.

Spielplatz am Heinrich-Lassen-Park

Some of the
best playgrounds in Berlin are

Hirschhof
Spielplatz (Prenzlauer Berg) – close to the Mauerpark.

Spielplatz
am Wasserturm (Prenzlauer Berg) – it’s very close to Kollwitzplatz; green and child-friendly
neighbourhood with lots of nice cafes.

Spielplatz
am Kollwitzplatz (Prenzlauer Berg) – visit the
market on a Thursday afternoon or on a Saturday.

Blauer
Spielplatz (Mitte) – inside the Weinsberg Park, where you can get a bite to eat
of a proper meal at the cafe/restaurant in the middle of the park.

Spielplatz
am Monbijoupark (Mitte) – close to Museum Island.

Tiergarten –
there are several playgrounds at different ends of the park; you could combine
it with a visit to the Reichstag, Potsdamer Platz, the Zoo or the Aquarium.

Volkspark
Friedrichshain (Prenzlauer Berg/Friedrichshain) – there are three playgrounds;
this park gets very busy at the weekend.

Gleisdreieck
Park (Kreuzberg) head to the Museum of Technology first and the stop off for
lunch or dinner at the Brlo Brewery.

Spielplatz am Heinrich-Lassen-Park (Schöneberg) – brand-new playground with a castle. It’s
right next to a swimming pool with a small outdoor pool and close to Volkspark
Schöneberg-Wilmersdorf. It’s only a short walk from Rathaus Schoeneberg,where John F. Kennedy gave his famous “Ich bin ein
Berliner speech”. Meanwhile, David Bowie fans might like to head to Hauptstraße
155, where the great artist lived between 1976 and 1978. There is a memorial plaque
outside the building.

On a hot
day, look for a Wasserspielplatz, a playground with water.

Swimming poolsand lakes

Some of the
best outdoor pools (in German Freibad or Sommerbad) and lakes are

Kinderbad Monbijou (Mitte) – best for small children.

Sommerbad Pankow (Pankow) – good for all ages: there is a
paddling pool for the little ones, a swimming pool for older ones and a leisure
pool with slides and diving boards; it can get very crowded on a hot day and at
the weekends, but there’s plenty of space on the lawn.

Freibad Orankesee

Strandbad
Weissensee (Weissensee) – good for swimming, sunbathing, having a drink and
hanging out with the locals.

Freibad
Orankesee (Hohenschönhausen) – good for swimming, sunbathing and avoiding
tourists. There is a spacious and shady Biergarten nearby.

Schlachtensee
(Zehlendorf) – beautiful lake surrounded by trees located in the posh area of
Berlin. There is a large beer garden and adjacent playground. It gets crowded at
the weekends, especially close to the S-Bahn station.

Parks

Tiergarten –
the city’s green lung. There are plenty of paths and hidden treasures to
discover, as well as two nice beer gardens where you can stop off for lunch or
a drink: Café am Neuen See and Schleusenkrug.

Volkspark
Friedrichshain – large park with playgrounds, cafes and a beer garden but gets
very crowded with local Berliners at the weekends.

Schloss
Charlottenburg – visit the castle and/or walk, play, run in the grounds.

INDOORS

Labyrinth Kindermuseum

Museum für Naturkunde (Natural History Museum)

Don’t miss
the dinosaurs! Tristan Otto is the only original skeleton of a T. Rex in Europe
to date.

Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of
Technology)

The museum
has a huge collection of steam engines and is also a great place for plane and
boat lovers. Don’t miss the Rosinenbomber on the top terrace!

Spectrum Science Centre

The Science
Centre makes science fun for children. It is just across from the Museum of
Technology and tickets are valid for same-day visits to both the museum and Spectrum.

Labyrinth Kindermuseum (Wedding) – the former factory has been
converted into a spacious children’s museum, with a special focus on diversity.
There are different areas and lots of things to discover and to play with. Aspiring
chefs will love the large kitchen area.

Kindermuseum MachMit (Prenzlauer Berg) – housed in a former church,
the large museum offers endless opportunities for playing, climbing and learning
through play. There is also a cinema. The current exhibition, which has been extended
to June 2019, focuses on Native American culture.

Legoland – housed in a basement on Potsdamer Platz, it’s
noisy and expensive, with only artificial light. Parents hate it, but kids love
it. Best to avoid at the weekend.

Zoo –it’s
one of Berlin’s most popular attractions both with adults and children so it
gets very busy, especially at the weekends.

Tierpark – not to be confused with the Tiergarten. The
Tierpark is Europe’s biggest animal park and is in the Eastern part of Berlin.

Aquarium – the entrance is next to the Zoo. It’s a good
place for the little ones and for fish and/or reptile lovers. Don’t miss the
sharks! You can get a combined ticket for the zoo and the aquarium.

Sealife – it’s smaller and narrower than the aquarium.
The best part is the lift that takes you into the AquaDom at the end: the massive
aquarium inside the Radisson Blu Hotel lobby. It’s cheaper if you buy tickets
online.

Berlin boat trip – the one-hour boat trip along the Spree is
probably the best option for smaller kids. They tend to get bored after a
while!

About Me

I grew up in an Anglo Italian family in the beautiful Mediterranean island of Sicily. When I was 18 I went to university in the wet and windy north of England to study chemistry. I met my German husband during an Erasmus year in the sunny south of France. After two years in a picturesque, albeit dull, town in Southwest Germany I escaped to London, where I found a job as chemical market analyst. I reluctantly followed my husband and his new job to a small German city, close to the French border, but we managed to escape after two years. I’ve been living in Berlin since October 2009. I became a Mum in the summer of 2012 so I now spend more time at playgrounds and family-friendly cafés than in loud bars or art-house cinemas, but I still find that Berlin has not lost its charm.